Nick Tavares: The development of Jose Iglesias continues

Sunday

Apr 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM

In late summer, 2011, I remember sitting along the third base line in Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium on a random weeknight. Taking the trip up Interstates 195 and 95 to see the Paw Sox has been a pretty common exercise; checking for rain, packing up a scorebook, dashing up the highway with music blocking out the radio, and finally, sitting somewhere in the stands for a night of baseball.

NICK TAVARES

In late summer, 2011, I remember sitting along the third base line in Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium on a random weeknight. Taking the trip up Interstates 195 and 95 to see the Paw Sox has been a pretty common exercise; checking for rain, packing up a scorebook, dashing up the highway with music blocking out the radio, and finally, sitting somewhere in the stands for a night of baseball.

On this night, I recall going with a singular purpose; to watch Jose Iglesias, who had just been moved up from AA Portland and handed the starting job at AAA. And nothing generates excitement like a mysterious prospect.

At that point, he was the future, a nearly unknown talent who had defected from Cuba and come to Boston for a healthy bonus. Boston's shortstop, then Marco Scutaro, was seen as a veteran plugging a roster spot until the supposedly otherworldly Iglesias got some AAA at-bats under his belt and could step into the lineup.

That night in Pawtucket, he didn't do anything otherworldly, per se, but I could see the potential. He started one double play, worked the middle of a 4-6-3 on another, and generally played the position as smoothly and quickly as anyone I could remember. On a couple of quick hoppers to the hole, he was there, and just as quickly, the ball was out of his glove and sailing towards first base.

He also went hitless at the plate, a not-uncommon occurrence that season, and the season after that. And with those hitless endeavors went Iglesias' status as an untouchable prospect.

That first season in Pawtucket saw him hit .269 with a .631 OPS in 101 games. The next year, he dipped a bit to .266 and .624 in 88 games, which isn't quite the progress fans were hoping for.

Of course, what was really remembered was his dreadful stint at the end of last season in Boston. In 25 games, he managed 8 hits and a .118 average, which was enough to banish him to the hazy pergutory of "never-was."

So, just a season or two ago, Iglesias was regarded within some media and fan circles as the heir apparent to Omar Vizquel, a dazzling defensive shortstop who had yet to find his stroke in the batter's box. Yet, by the time of this most recent spring training, he was merely a cog in the system, insurance behind Stephen Drew and, at best, holding a place for the latest prospect du jour, Portland's Xander Bogaerts.

Then Drew suffered a concussion before the season started, plugging Iglesias back into the lineup where, suddenly, he seemed a shade more confidant. His defense was — no surprise here — sterling, and his approach at the plate seemed a tick more patient and competent.

There were plenty of squibblers among his 9 hits to contribute to his .450 average over Boston's first six games, but that .450 was enough to cause a modicum of outcry when he was sent back to Pawtucket after Drew's clean bill of health.

So, what's the reality? Is Iglesias a bust who sucked more than $8 million from the Red Sox, or is he a future Hall-of Famer who just needs Major League at-bats to prove his worth?

As is typically the case with such extreme hopes and dismissive criticism, Iglesias' true appraisal is probably somewhere in between. Where he eventually finds himself and where he lands, that's still to be decided.

But the great part is that we can watch him in the process. He'll make solid contact and he'll fan wildly on a breaking pitch. He may look lost and he may smack the ball with authority. He's still just 23 years old, and he has plenty of time to do both.

Eventually, he'll be back in Boston. But in the meantime, Pawtucket's a great place to watch him develop. You could do worse in spending your weeknight.

Nick Tavares' column appears Sundays in the Standard-Times and at SouthCoastToday.com. He can be reached at nick@nicktavares.com